RUNNING WITH PERSEVERANCE

BY VARIOUS AUTHORS
 NOVEMBER 21, 2016
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Use these age appropriate activities to teach your children
about persevering in their faith.
Perseverance is essential for successful living. It allows us to consistently pursue a goal
or unwaveringly live out our beliefs, regardless of obstacles or difficulties. In 1
Corinthians 9:24-27, the apostle Paul compares the pursuit of the Christian life to a
footrace. His vivid analogy shows the importance of persevering in the race of faith in
order to attain our spiritual reward.

As you teach your children about perseverance, consider these four biblical principles:

Training. Only the foolish attempt to run a marathon without preparation. Simple day-to-
day disciplines, such as prayer and studying the Bible, prepare one’s faith to endure
and help prevent those in the race from being disqualified.
Sustainable pace. Christians sometimes try to accomplish too much too quickly, relying
on their own strength rather than on God’s. Those runners often find themselves
fatigued or burned out. Waiting on the Lord’s timing sets an appropriate pace.

Staying the course. In the middle of long races, runners may “hit the wall,” a point
where they feel physically and emotionally spent. From their perspective, the finish line
is far away and quitting is a strong temptation. When Christians continue running,
choosing obedience over emotions, they will eventually experience a “second wind,” a
renewal of God’s strength to sustain them.

Strong finish. God uses the challenges of the faith race to develop people to be mature
and complete in Him. Just as athletes are crowned with victory wreaths and medals,
God rewards those who persevere to the end.

You can use the following activities and discussions to help your child understand and
apply these important truths about perseverance.

— Rick Cole

Key Points

 Maintaining spiritual disciplines and following God’s pace helps our faith to
endure.
 When we feel like giving up, God’s strength sustains us.
 God rewards those who persevere to the end.

Family Memory Verse

Hebrews 10:36
“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive
what he has promised.”

Scripture Study

For a more in-depth study on the purpose of family, read these Bible verses:

 Romans 5:3-4
 2 Timothy 4:7-8
 Hebrews 10:32-36
 Hebrews 12:1-3
 James 1:2-4

Preschool Activity
School-Age Activity
Tween Activity
Time With Your Teen

Preschool Activity
Use a puppet and this skit to teach your child about the importance of perseverance.

Puppet: (whispering) Whisper. (Shouting) Shout. (Whispering) Whisper.

Parent: What are you doing?

Puppet: (whispering) I am whispering (shouting) and shouting.

Parent: I know that, but why?

Puppet: (whispering) I’m practicing my quiet voice.

Parent: Why?

Puppet: My mom wants me to take a nap and rest every day.

Parent: What does napping have to do with practicing your quiet voice?

Puppet: If I wake up early from my nap, I can look through books, but I also have to
whisper. Rest time is a long time to whisper.

Parent: Do you know what endurance means?

Puppet: Endurance? That’s a big word, but it’s not as big as klufkeykeykey.

Parent: What does that mean?

Puppet: Nothing. I made it up.

Parent: Well, unlike your pretend word, endurance means something.

Puppet: What does it mean?

Parent: It means doing something that is difficult for a long time.

Puppet: I don’t like that word.

Parent: That’s too bad because good things come from endurance.

Puppet: Like what?

Parent: Well, like when you must take a break and rest from playing all day.

Puppet: Nothing good can come out of that.

Parent: It’s good because your body gets to take a break, and quiet time helps you
relax.

Puppet: Hmm, well I do use my body a lot for playing.

Parent: The nap will give you more strength to play.

Puppet: OK. I’ll do it.

Parent: Good things do come from endurance.

Puppet: But for now, I’m going to play and be loud. Bye!

—Andrea Gutierrez

School-age Activity
Perseverance is a big concept for 4- to 7-year-olds, but they are already learning this
skill. Begin a discussion in this way:

 To persevere means to stay with something even when you don’t feel like it. Are
you discouraged by having to brush your teeth every day? Do you ever feel you’d
rather not have to clean your room after you play? What are some other things
you have to do on a regular basis even when you don’t feel like it?
 Even if [insert one responsibility your child mentioned] isn’t always fun, why
should you do it? [Help your child understand that personal hygiene keeps her
healthy; cleaning her room keeps her toys from getting lost or broken; and doing
homework gives her the knowledge and skills she’ll need in the future.]
 What does God think about perseverance? [Read the verses listed in the
Scripture study above with your child. Explain that God honors those who
persevere for His sake.]
Pray with your child: Ask God to help your child persevere through challenges that are
part of her everyday world.

—Pam Woody

Tween Activity
Explore the rewards of perseverance with a household candy hunt!

First, buy a bag of “fun-size” candy bars and allot three bars for each child. Write names
on the candy bars to show which ones belong to whom, then hide them around your
home. Make one bar easy to find for each kid, but hide the others in hard-to-find
locations.

Next, set your kids loose hunting for candy! When they’re stumped, ask them if they
want to give up. If they refuse, give them clues that help them easily find the candy.

Once all the candy is found, ask:

 Why didn’t you give up when it got hard to find your candy? <
 Not giving up is called “perseverance.” What helped you persevere?

Read Hebrews 12:1-3. Discuss the following questions:

 How is the “race” described here like our hunt for hidden candy?
 Your reward for persevering today was candy. What kind of rewards do we
experience by following Jesus — even when it’s hard?
 How can you persevere as you follow God this week?

Wrap up with prayer, thanking God for the fact that He never gives up on us.

—Mike Nappa

Time With Your Teen

My daughter Selah was a high school senior who longed for a college acceptance
letter and a generous financial package. She spent months researching grant
opportunities, writing essays, studying for college entrance exams and polishing her
résumé. As the stress of senior year peaked, Selah understood in a new way what
perseverance really meant. She pressed on in spite of the frustrations and
disappointments, continuing to write, to wait and to dream of a college adventure in the
South.
Life is full of challenges that require kids and adults alike to persevere. But in today’s
culture of instant gratification and drive-through demands, your teens also need to
understand the importance of perseverance. They may need to labor for a long time
without seeing immediate results in their sports, grades and extracurricular activities.
They may need to work at a part-time job they don’t enjoy, or model perseverance in
resisting peer pressure. Start a discussion with your teens about ways to accomplish
long-term goals without letting discouragement derail them.

One way to do this is to be honest about sharing situations or obstacles in your own life
that still require vigilant effort. Together, research some of God’s promises to those who
persevere (consider Romans 5:3-4; James 1:2-4; James 5:10-12). Ask your teens,
“What goals are you working toward — a college education, a career, maybe even
marriage?” Discuss how perseverance will help your teens to accomplish those goals
and then agree to encourage one another amid the challenges of life.

Learning about perseverance firsthand certainly paid off for my daughter. Selah not only
received the coveted acceptance letter from her dream school, but she was awarded a
substantial financial package as well. Perhaps even more important, the perseverance
she developed in high school prepared my daughter for success in college and beyond.

—Pam Woody

“Running With Perseverance” © 2010 by Rick Cole; “Preschool Activity,” and “School-Age
Activity” © 2009 by Focus on the Family. “Tween Activity” © 2010 by Mike Nappa. Used by
permission. “Time With Your Teen” © 2010 by Focus on the Family.